Cone Penetration Testing

Geotechnology’s Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) capability provides a detailed, in-situ testing method used to map soil stratigraphy and estimate many fundamental geotechnical engineering properties of softer, sensitive soils. Three major advantages of using CPT that add value on your project are:

 

Continuous Record

CPT provides a continuous record of data, revealing thin layers of dissimilar materials; for example, a half-inch thick sand seam within a thick clay stratum. Such thin layers of material with dissimilar properties, which may be missed with conventional drilling and interval sampling, can have significant impact on geotechnical engineering aspects of a project.

 

Faster Production

The daily production rate for CPT is often 1.5 to 3 times faster than conventional drilling and sampling. Faster production means a more cost-effective subsurface exploration program.

 

Downhole Seismic Capability

Geotechnology owns triaxial geophone seismic cones, which allows us to collect both P & S waves downhole. This allows us to efficiently characterize a site with regards to both liquefaction and site class.

 

Geotechnology’s CPT Difference

Geotechnology’s center push, 20-ton track mounted rig allows for deployment in multiple environments and the large overall weight means anchoring is not required.

Our seismic piezocone (SCPTU) allows us to collect four distinct data sets (shear wave velocity, tip pressure, skin friction and pore pressure) within the same hole at the same time, resulting in cost savings for the client.

Geotechnology has assembled a team of experienced professional engineers and technicians who perform the majority of our CPT across the region. This team is specially trained on our 20-ton rig, equipment and software which enables them to perform CPT in a cost effective and efficient manner. Geotechnology can provide the CPT data to the client for their use, but also utilizes CPT data for multiple in-house projects so we are uniquely suited to provide both data acquisition and analysis, making us a one-stop-shop for your CPT and engineering needs.

CPT for geotechnical applications is described in ASTM Standard D5778 and D7400.